Improvement in machinery for laying ropes



N PErERs. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPMER. wAsHmeToN. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT Ormes,

MARTIBT GUILD, OF EASTON, MASSAOI-IUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR LAYING ROPES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. GAAN dated May S, 1849.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN GUILD, of Easton, in the county of Bristol. and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Laying Cords or Ropes; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and accompanying drawings, letters, figures, and references thereof. i

Of the said drawings, Figure l denotes a top view of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a front elevation of it. Fig. 3 is a central vertical and longitudinal section of it. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken at about half the height of the main frame. Fig. 5 is a transverse and vertical section taken on line from A to B, Fig. 2.

In Figs. l, 2, 3, and of the said drawings, C represents a long shaft or spindle supported and so as to revolve in suitable bearings attached to cross-bars D E F of the main frame Gr, the said bearings being seen at a I) c. Two circular nier-heads Il I are arranged upon the said shaft O in the positions with regard to one another, as denoted in Fig. l, the said heads being made to carry and support three or any other suitable number of fliers K L M, whosel necks d e revolve in bearings formed within the heads. Thile both necks of each of said fliers are made tubular or hollow, each nee-k d thereof is caused to receive a short cylindrical shaft f, which passes through it and revolves within it as a bearing, there being a bevel-gear g on one end of each shaft f and a spur-gear h on the other end of the same,

the ier-neck d having a similar spur-gear 'L' affixed upon it, the whole being arranged as seen in the drawings. The spur-gears e' i 'i of the necks of the fliers engage with one large gear-wheel 7c,iixed on a tubular shaft Z, which is placed and revolves freely on the main shaft or spindle C, and has a driving-pulley m attached to its outer end. A second tubular shaft fa is disposed and revolves freely on the shaft Z, and has a gear-wheel o and a driving-pulley p affixed upon it in the positions denoted in the drawings, the said gear-wheel being for the purpose of engaging with and revolving the several small gears g g g and their shafts fff.

The driving-pulleys m and p are respectvely rotated by endless belts q r, the former of which extends around a pulley s on a horizontal shaft', while the latter extends about a pulley u on a horizontal shaft e, arranged as seen in the drawings, the first of the vsaid two shafts being about twice the length of .the second and supported and made to re' volve in three boxes or bearings fw w w, afxed to cross-rails y ,e a of the main frame. The other shaft is supported and turns in two boxes x Qc', the latter of which boxes also receives the journal or end of a third shaft b', whose opposite end is supported in a box c.

The shaft t is the main driving-shaft of the machine and gives motion to the two shafts fu and b by means of two endless belts d e', each of which is made to work two drums or sets of cone-pulleys f g or 7L fi, disposed on the shafts, as seen in thedrawings.

The main spindle O has a pulley It fixed on one end of it, around which pulleyT and another pulley Z, fixed on the shaft b', an endless belt m extends, the rota-tory motion of the spindle being obtained by such means from that of the shaft b.

Each flier carries abobbin In', which is disposed transversely between the arms or sides of the flier, as seen in the drawings. The strand o from the said bobbin is led toward and over a guide-roller 29', placed near the front neck of the flier and having its axis parallel with that of the bobbin. From thence the strand leads to the delivery machinery, which consists of a iiuted barrel or windlass q and a grooved barrel o", arranged between the hier-arms, as seen in Fig. l, and applied thereto, so as to be capable of revolving on their respective axes. The surface of thewindlass is fluted or scored in a direction parallel to its axis, while that of the barrel o" is grooved transversely. -On the shaft of the windlass-barrel is a beveled gear s', which engages with the gear g, before mentioned.

The strand o', after leaving the guide-pul- Ieyp, iscarried under the bobbin and the grooved barrel fr. Thence it is made to pass upward over and around the windlass-barrel, thence upward and around the barrel r again, and after being carried in the above manner several times about said windlassbarrel and the barrel r it is thence made to pass over the bobbin and through the front flier-neck and toward and through a common directing plate t', ixedupon the spindle. Thence it is carried through the head of the guard,lthe same being'done with each strand. The said guard consists of a long rod u', having a circular head t" affixed to one end of it. The rod u of the guard is insertedA in the endet the spindle and is adapted to the spindle, so as to be capable of being slid into and out of the same. In order to prevent it from turning around laterally within the spindle, a small stud w is made to extend from the rod and to pass into a slot Je cut in the spindle, as seen in Figs. l and 3. The head t of the guard is grooved around its periphery1 and receives in the groove a circular ring y', an extension e" of which slides upon a horizontal and stationary rod a2, extending from the bar F of lthe frame. A cord b2 is affixed at one end to the said extension, and is carried toward anda over a pulley c2, disposed as seen in Figs. l and 3. Said vcord thence passes down vertically and through an eye d2, formed on-the end of an arm c2, projecting from a long horizontal shaft f2, disposed as seen in Figs. 2 and l, and having its journals supported by suitable bearings q2 g2 g2, affixed to the posts of the frame. Just below the arm c`2 a weight h2 is fastened to the cord h2.

rlhe belt which proceeds from the driving power and actuates the machine is made to pass through an eye 2, made in the lower end of a shifting-lever 752, hinged to the main frame at Z2. From the eye of the shiftinglever the belt passes to and around either a fast pulley m2 or a loose pulley n2, arranged upon the driving-shaft. A spring 02, (see Fig. 6, which denotes a side viewof theloose pulley and the shifting-lever and mechanism connected therewith,) affixed at its upper end to the post of the main frame, has its lower end passed through a staple p2, inserted in the inner side of the shifting-lever, said spring being made in such manner as to press the lower end of the shifting-lever away from the posts of the frame. A catch or hook Q2 is inserted in the post and by the side of the spring and in such manner that when the lower arm of the shifting-leveris passed toward the post and far enough to carry the driving-belt upon the fast pulley the spring .will pass against and by the hook or catch and be retained by it until thrown off the same by the pressure of a projection or wide arm r2, extending from the horizontal shaft f2. \\'hen so thrown off the catch, the spring so operates the shifting-lever as to move the driving-belt from the fast to the loose pulley, and inconsequence thereof the motions ot' the machine will stop.

From the above it will be seen that whenever the arm e2 is lifted high enough the shaft f2 will be so revolved in its bearings as to press the arm 0'? against the spring o2 and stop the machine. Now the said arm c2 will be raised whenever the weight h2 is drawn up, in consequence of the guard u being forced in a direction toward and into the spindle C, the said guard being so moved whenever any overtwisting together of the strands takes place. Therefore it will be seen that the ,purpose of the guard, its cord, and weight, the horizontal shaft, shifting-lever, and the apparatus connected therewith, as above specified, is to regulate or equalize the tightness of twist of the laying of the strands. If the tightness of twist increases beyond a certain extent, the strands will press back the guard, and thereby cause the machine to stop. Then this takes place, the belt c must be shifted on it-s cones of pulleys, so as to produce a slower motion of the fliers. The strands, after being twisted together into a rope orcord, pass several times around a draft-roller s2, fixed upon a horizontal shaft t2, (arranged as seen in the drawings.) From thence the rope is received and wound upon a reel u2, placed upon a shaft r2, disposed as seen in the drawings. Each of the shafts t2 r2 has a grooved pulley w'2 or c2 affixed to it, around which an'endless belt y2 or z2, proceeding from a pulley d3 or Zr?, passes. The pulleys @3113 are fixed upon a horizontal shaft c3, which is put in motion by a spurgear cl3 and an endless screw c3 operating together, the spur -gear being affixed On the shaft ci, while the endless screw is attached to the main driving-shaft t.

The next portion of the machinery to be specified is that by which the motions of the machine are arrested whenever a strand breaks.

In the periphery of the front dier-head I and a little in advance of each strand-hole f thereof a small pin g3 is inserted and made to project therefrom, as seen in Fig. 5. Directly underneath the head I and in the plane thereof is a slide-bar 7L, which is supported so as to slide freely back and forth in the direction y of its length or transversely of the machine. To the middle part of the bar h3 a curved lever 113 is applied and made t0 turn upon a f ulcru 1n or screw-pin 7c3, passed through the lower end of the lever and into the slidebar. The upper end of the lever extends up above the circular path of the strands, so that when the head I is put in revolution the strands will be carried in succession against lthe lever and depress it. The lever is held up by a spring Z3, which spring is attached at one end to the slide-bar and at its other end bears against the lever. A short arm or stud m3 is made 'to project horizontally from the lever 1'7" and directly underneath the periphery of the head I. Then the lever is depressed, the said arm m3 is forced down into a notch or recess n, made in the top of the slide-bar.

The direction in which the Hier-head I revolves being denoted by the arrow of thereon, it will be seen from what has been described that whenever any one of the strands breaks (the head1 being supposed to bel in revolution) that it will not depress the lever t3 when moved by it. Consequently the pin g3 next to the hole f3 of the broken strand will be carried against the arm ymgin such manner as to so actuate the slide-bar as to cause it to slide in its bearings in a direction toward the shaft f2, from which shaft an arm o`l extends upward and through a staple p driven into the slide-bar. In consequence of such movement of the slide-bar the shaft f2 will be so turnedbas to operate on the spring of the shifting-lever and causev the driving-belt to be moved from the fast toward and upon the loose pulley.

In all the cord or rope laying machines which have come to my knowledge there appears to be one serious omission-viz., that of a means of delivering each strand in the proportion the twist thereof may require and at the same time with a sufcient draft on the strand to keep it straight. The common method of delivery is by drawing the strand from the bobbin by means of a roller made to operate after the twist is thrown in or produced in the strand and the strands are laid together. In such case the strands are kept straight either byfriction applied to the bobbins or by each strand being wound several times around the arm of its hier. rlhe draft produced in such manner is variable and unpassing the strand about them, as above explained, the strand is held firmly and prevented from slipping` and is regularly delivered Afrom the bobbin and under a suitable degree of tension before any twist is put into it, (the strand,) the same draft or drag on the strands when laid together being produced by a drawing-roller s?, as hereinbefore described.

Vhatl claim therefore as my invention isl. A combination consisting of the guard, its rope and weight, and the lever-shaft f2, with its arms, spring, shifting-lever, and catch, the whole being applied to the spindle C, essentially in manner and for the purpose as specified.

2. The combination, with the lever-shaft f2, having arms o4 fr?, spring, catch, and shiftinglever, as described, or any other suitable mechanical equivalent for shifting the drivingbelt from the fast to the loose pulley, of the slide-bar h3, the spring-lever i3, having an arm m3, and the pins g3, inserted in the Hier-head I, the said combination being for the purpose of arresting the motion of the machine on the breaking of a strand.

In testimony whereof I have hereto set my signature this 7th day of November, A. D. 1848.

MARTIN GUILD.

Witnesses:

JAMES GUILD, HARRISON POOLE. 

